In response to a protest outside a white editor's home, the South African Editors Forum (SANEF) sought court orders to stop Black First Land First activists from harassing, intimidating and threatening journalists and editors over their reporting. But SANEF did not show similar concern when Black journalists came under attack. Why the double standards?
As the ANC was debating the colour of monopoly capital at Nasrec in Johannesburg on 29 June 2017, activists of Black First Land First (BLF), an organisation campaigning for land and an end to racism, descended on the house of Peter Bruce, the editor-at-large of Tiso Blackstar' formerly Times Media' which owns TimesLIVE' and a former editor-in-chief of Business Day and Financial Mail. Subsequent to the protest at Bruce's house, the BLF issued a statement defending its action against some white journalists and identifying other black journalists who it deemed servants of white monopoly capital in South Africa. In its press release on 30 June 2017, BLF argued, "Black First Land First (BLF) respects freedom of expression and the independence of the media. However, BLF will not tolerate racism, slander, fake news and the covering up of white corruption under the guise of journalism". The statement then mentioned names of white and black journalists who "masquerade as journalists, in defence of white monopoly capital".
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